Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Joanna Klees van Bommel, Catherine Sun, Adam T. Ford, Melissa Todd, A. Cole Burton
Summary: The urban-wildland interface is expanding and increasing the risk of human-wildlife conflict. In this study, we investigated black bear habitat use in a North American hotspot of conflict and found that bears modify their behaviors by avoiding humans in space and time, but conflicts still occur in summer and autumn.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Don W. Hardeman Jr, Hannah B. Vander Zanden, J. Walter McCown, Brian K. Scheick, Robert A. McCleery
Summary: Growing human populations and development have led to increased conflicts between humans and carnivores, especially bears. Wildlife managers often remove bears from developed areas under the assumption that they will become food conditioned and more likely to cause conflicts. However, our study using isotopic values of bear hair found that the presence of bears in developed areas does not necessarily indicate food conditioning. Therefore, assumptions about bears in developed areas should not be made based solely on observations of their behavior.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Eugenia Boulygina, Fedor Sharko, Maksim Cheprasov, Maria Gladysheva-Azgari, Natalia Slobodova, Svetlana Tsygankova, Sergey Rastorguev, Lena Grigorieva, Martina Kopp, Jorge M. O. Fernandes, Gavril Novgorodov, Gennady Boeskorov, Albert Protopopov, Woo-Suk Hwang, Alexei Tikhonov, Artem Nedoluzhko
Summary: This study demonstrates the maternal philopatry of the Northeastern Eurasian U. arctos population during the several thousand years of the Holocene through ancient DNA analysis and comparative phylogenetic analysis.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Jennifer Vonk
Summary: By training an American black bear, it was found that the bear was able to choose the correct response button for a preferred food item but struggled with a less preferred food item. This study represents the first attempt to train a bear to indicate its preferences using a Likert scale-like method, and it could be beneficial for improving animal welfare.
Article
Virology
Arturo Oliver-Guimera, Alzbeta Hejtmankova, Kenneth Jackson, Patricia A. Pesavento
Summary: Polyomaviruses are ancient DNA viruses that infect various species of animals. Black bears are the natural hosts for Ursus americanus polyomavirus 1 (UaPyV1), with the virus detected in tissues of six out of seven bears submitted for examination. However, there is currently no evidence of a specific disease associated with UaPyV1 infection in this small group of bears.
ARCHIVES OF VIROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Maximilian L. Allen, L. Mark Elbroch, Heiko U. Wittmer
Summary: Interactions between apex predators and dominant scavengers, such as kleptoparasitism by American black bears on puma kills, can have significant effects on the foraging behavior and energetics of the apex predators. The study found that black bears were the most frequent scavenger of puma kills, leading to pumas spending less time at their kill sites and experiencing energetic losses, which in turn influenced their inter-kill intervals and kill rates. The results highlight the importance of understanding interspecific interactions in ecological communities and how dominant scavengers can impact apex predator dynamics.
BASIC AND APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Ashley Friedenberger, Colleen Doyle, Lindsey Couillard, Christopher J. Kyle
Summary: A multiplex qPCR assay was developed in this study to detect and distinguish different bear species, showing its sensitivity and applicability in bile mixture recipes. This assay can aid wildlife enforcement applications for the protection of bear species.
FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL-GENETICS
(2023)
Article
Biology
A. Loy, P. Ciucci, G. Guidarelli, E. Roccotelli, P. Colangelo
Summary: The study found significant differences in fluctuating asymmetry and morphological integration in the skull of Apennine bears compared to other outbred bear populations, suggesting they may be experiencing developmental instability and potentially leading to evolutionary novelty.
Article
Ecology
Michael J. Hooker, Joseph D. Clark, Bobby T. Bond, Michael J. Chamberlain
Summary: Habitat fragmentation and loss have negative impacts on the isolation and extinction risks of American black bear populations. The study found limited demographic connectivity between the central Georgia bear population and surrounding bear populations, and the establishment of corridors may have marginal effects on gene flow.
JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Shanmugavelu Swaminathan, Thomas R. R. Sharp, Attur S. S. Arun, Tom S. S. Smith, Randy Larsen, Kartick Satyanarayan, Geeta Seshamani
Summary: The denning ecology of sloth bears in eastern Karnataka, India was studied to understand their habitat selection. Maternal dens were closer to forest borders, likely chosen for access to resources and to meet the needs of cubs. Resting dens were located closer to human habitation, suggesting a tradeoff between resource availability and predation and mortality risks.
JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Melanie R. Boudreau, Mariela G. Gantchoff, Laura Conlee, Charles Anderson, Nathaniel R. Bowersock, Jerrold L. Belant, Raymond B. Iglay
Summary: Having reproducible and transparent science-based processes is crucial in wildlife management, especially when establishing harvest frameworks. This study provides an example of using multiple data sets to assess spatial and temporal vulnerability of black bear harvest, resulting in the establishment of bear management zones and timing recommendations to limit female harvest bias.
JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Michelle L. Crabb, Matthew J. Clement, Andrew S. Jones, Kirby D. Bristow, Larisa E. Harding
Summary: This study investigates the habitat selection and home ranges of American black bears before and after the largest wildfire in Arizona history. The results show that after the fire, black bears continued to use all levels of burn severity and their home ranges did not expand.
JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Todd C. Atwood, Karyn D. Rode, David C. Douglas, Kristin Simac, Anthony M. Pagano, Jeffrey F. Bromaghin
Summary: In the Arctic, changes in sea ice due to warming temperatures have impacted the habitat and prey access for polar bears. A study on polar bears in Alaska's southern Beaufort Sea from 1983 to 2015 found that different demographic groups have varied responses to environmental changes, with some being more resilient than others. The researchers observed declines in body condition and litter mass of cubs of the year, indicating potential impacts on polar bear population dynamics.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Greta M. Schmidt, Tabitha A. Graves, Jordan C. Pederson, Sarah L. Carroll
Summary: Spatial capture-recapture (SCR) models are powerful tools for estimating abundance and density of wild animal populations. This study evaluated the factors influencing the uncertainty of SCR parameter estimates using black bear data, and provided density estimates for Utah black bear populations. The results showed that sample sizes are important for the accuracy and precision of parameter estimates, and multiple years of data are needed for precise density estimates.
ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Hannah S. Tiffin, Michael J. Skvarla, Erika T. Machtinger
Summary: The study indicates that black bears may play an important role in tick ecology and dispersal, as all three mobile life-stages of Ixodes scapularis were found parasitizing black bears in a region with high numbers of Lyme disease cases.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY-PARASITES AND WILDLIFE
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
James A. Klarevas-Irby, Damien R. Farine
Summary: Little is known about how animals overcome temporal constraints on movement during dispersal. This study used GPS tracking of vulturine guineafowl and found that dispersers showed the greatest increase in movement at the same times of day when they moved the most prior to dispersal. These findings suggest that individuals face the same ecological constraints during dispersal as they do in daily life and achieve large displacements by maximizing movement when conditions are most favorable.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Simone Ciaralli, Martina Esposito, Stefano Francesconi, Daniela Muzzicato, Marco Gamba, Matteo Dal Zotto, Daniela Campobello
Summary: Male cuckoos may transfer nest location information to females as a nonmaterial nuptial gift through specific postures and behaviors, potentially influencing mating choices of female cuckoos.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Anne E. Aulsebrook, Rowan Jacques-Hamilton, Bart Kempenaers
Summary: Accelerometry and machine learning have been used to quantify mating behaviors of captive male ruffs. Different machine learning methods were compared and evaluated for their classification performance. The study highlights the challenges and potential pitfalls in classifying mating behaviors using accelerometry and provides recommendations and considerations for future research.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Maria G. Smith, Joshua B. LaPergola, Christina Riehl
Summary: This study analyzed individual contributions to parental care in the greater ani bird and found that workload inequality varied between groups of two and three pairs. However, there was no clear evidence of division of labour within the groups, suggesting individual differences in overall work performed.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Noah M. T. Smith, Reuven Dukas
Summary: Winner and loser effects are observed in many animals, and recent experiments suggest that they may also occur in humans. In two experiments involving video games and reading comprehension, participants who won in the first phase performed significantly better in the second phase compared to those who lost. The effect size was larger in the video game experiment, and men and women showed similar magnitudes of winner and loser effects.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Bianca J. L. Marcellino, Peri Yee, Shannon J. Mccauley, Rosalind L. Murray
Summary: This study examines the trade-off between mating effort and thermoregulatory behavior in dragonflies in response to temperature changes, and investigates the effect of wing melanin on these behaviors. The results indicate that as temperature increases, dragonflies reduce their mating effort and increase their thermoregulatory behavior.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Rafael Rios Moura, Paulo Inacio Prado, Joao Vasconcellos-Neto
Summary: This study examined the escape behavior and decision-making of Aglaoctenus castaneus spiders on different substrates. It was found that spiders inhabiting injurious substrates displayed shorter flight initiation distances and lower sensitivity to predators.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Luigi Baciadonna, Cwyn Solvi, Francesca Terranova, Camilla Godi, Cristina Pilenga, Livio Favaro
Summary: In this study, it was found that African penguins could use ventral dot patterns to recognize their lifelong partner and nonpartner colonymates. This challenges the previous assumption of limited visual involvement in penguin communication, highlighting the complex and flexible recognition process in birds.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Nick A. R. Jones, Jade Newton-Youens, Joachim G. Frommen
Summary: Environmental conditions, particularly temperature, have a significant impact on animal behavior. This study focused on aggression in Neolamprologus pulcher fish and found that aggression rates increased with temperature at lower levels, but decreased after reaching a peak. Additionally, the influence of high temperatures on aggression changed over time during the trials. These findings provide a more comprehensive understanding of the short-term effects of temperature on aggression and highlight the importance of considering non-linear changes in thermal performance.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Bruno Herlander Martins, Andrea Soriano-Redondo, Aldina M. A. Franco, Ines Carry
Summary: Human activities have affected the availability of resources for wildlife, particularly through the provision of anthropogenic food subsidies at landfill sites. This study explores the influence of age on landfill attendance and foraging behavior in white storks. Adult storks visit landfills more frequently and show dominance over juveniles in food acquisition. Juveniles have limited access to landfill resources and are forced to use lower quality areas.